Activity Tailorhttp://www.activitytailor.com
Creative Ideas for Speech TherapyMon, 02 Mar 2015 12:28:54 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.3Speech Journal Review and Giveaway!http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3736
http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3736#commentsMon, 02 Mar 2015 12:28:54 +0000http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3736
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Basketball is a HUGE deal in North Carolina so I was excited when Yapp Guru decided to host a March Madness themed contest. Be prepared for a lot of fun! I’m taking this seriously, so be sure to check out my profile on YappGuru because I’ll be posting a new app review each day in March. Here on the blog, you can get in on the action too! March will be full of app reviews with lots of giveaways planned! [Continue Reading]]]>

Basketball is a HUGE deal in North Carolina so I was excited when Yapp Guru decided to host a March Madness themed contest. Be prepared for a lot of fun! I’m taking this seriously, so be sure to check out my profile on YappGuru because I’ll be posting a new app review each day in March. Here on the blog, you can get in on the action too!

March will be full of app reviews with lots of giveaways planned! And don’t worry if you aren’t into the whole app thing. There will be plenty of low tech options to go along with them!

A few weeks ago, I posted “Sequencing Journal” which is a way I work on sequencing with my little ones. It’s simply a written record of what we do during each session. You can read more about it here.

Mobile Education Store has an app, “Speech Journals,” which can be used as a high tech version or to create personal narratives easily in the therapy room. I’ll be taking photos of each therapy activity we do and having us create a quick sumamry at the end of the session. I’m also planning to use this to sequence activities. For instance, I might have a student demonstrate washing their hands at the sink and take 3-4 pictures of them completeing the tasks. Then, we can create a “washing hands” journal entry in which I have them verbalize each step.

I’ve been using version 1.7 which is $3.99 in the iTunes app store. (It’s also part of the MES Speech Therapy App Bundle). Here’s how it works.

To start, open the app and add a user. Now, click on “Add image.” You will have access to the photos on your iPad or you can take one with the camera.

Once you have the photo you want selected you can focus on a specific section of the photo easily with the move/scale options. Hit “use.”

Now it’s time to add a recording. Simply hit “record” and say what you want.

Didn’t like it? Just erase and re-record. Oops. You wanted to add more? Hit “Continue Recording.”

Once you have the recording for a specific photo you can hit “choose image” again and add another pic. “Continue Recording” will now allow you to add the narrative to the new pic. It’s very easy to use.

Once your story is complete, hit “Save recording” and you’ll be prompted to give the file a name.

Recordings are saved under the user and can be emailed as well.

I love the ease with which you can put together a short scene and watch the story. The only drawback to the app is that when you email the recording the photos are separate from the audio. You can see/hear both parts, but you don’t get the slideshow with audio that you do when you’re on the app.

MES gave me a copy of Speech Journals to review but all opinions expressed here are my own. I also have TWO copies to give away! To enter, leave a comment below letting us know whether you have ever kept a journal or diary of your own. If you have a mortifying story of it being found and read, we want to hear that too! You have from now until midnight (EST) March 7, 2015 to enter and the winners will be announced on Sunday March 8, 2015. Good luck!

Many of my students struggle in the classroom or regular conversation. It’s just too fast paced. My room can be a welcome respite. A place where I’ll wait (and wait and wait some more) while you reason it out, search for the word or organize your articulators into position.

Except for when I don’t.

If my students are to have any hope of competing “out there” I need to occasionally bring some pressure into the treatment room. I find this to be especially true of my speech students. Slow, odd prosody with perfect articulation (a weird, but not uncommon therapy side effect) is easier to negate if I force a faster rate. My fluency students will often become much more fluent with me despite reports of continued struggles with classmates which leave me searing for ways to manufacture breakdowns (Mean, I know.) The easiest and most fun way is with a game.

I’m listing a few of my favorite “pressure games” here, but I’d love to hear your favorites so please be sure to leave a comment! (I’ve provided Amazon affiliate links if you’re interested in more info.)

Spot It! This is so cool to me. Each card has a variety of objects and every two cards will have just one of those objects in common. Players race to see who can spot the pair first. This is a great game especially for addressing word retrieval and fluency. I also like that there isn’t a huge language component which makes the kids feel like they’re playing on my level. (Note: Spotting the match isn’t always easy and sometimes I’ll have a student that can beat me handily!)

Zingo! There are a few version of this now, but I’m partial to the original. Each player has a Bingo board and on each turn one person slides the “machine” to reveal two pictures. Yell out the on(s) you need first to cover you squares. The slider is so cool to kids.

Scattergories The Card Game: Flip over a category and initial letter card on each turn and race to be the first to come up with a word that satisfies both.

Don’t Wake Daddy: This game doesn’t technically fit, except that Daddy does sort of panic everyone who plays (in a fun way). On most turns, you’ll find yourself pushing the alarm clock until POP, Daddy explodes up from the bed. The excitement/nervousness this brings out gives you a “pressure situation.”

TPT has extended the “Teachers are Heroes Sale” another day! All products in my store (even hard good games and books) are 20% and by using code: HEROES you can get an additional 10% off your entire purchase (for 28% total)! Click here to start shopping!

]]>http://www.activitytailor.com/?feed=rss2&p=37226Fluency, a Linky Party and a Huge Sale!http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3709
http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3709#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2015 12:30:27 +0000http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3709
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I’m really into TED talks. I love that I can pop on the site and, over a quick sandwich, be thinking about a topic I’ve never considered before or reconsidering one in a completely different light. A few of these have been so pertinent to my older students or own kids that I’ve had to share. Watching a short video is a great way to get them talking and present ideas without hearing a lecture from me. To capitalize on [Continue Reading]]]>

I’m really into TED talks. I love that I can pop on the site and, over a quick sandwich, be thinking about a topic I’ve never considered before or reconsidering one in a completely different light. A few of these have been so pertinent to my older students or own kids that I’ve had to share. Watching a short video is a great way to get them talking and present ideas without hearing a lecture from me.

To capitalize on the wonder that is TED, I’ve put together a packet that includes discussion questions and activities (one indepent/one group) for each of eight TED Talks. If this interests you, click here for more info. (Does anyone out there have going to TED on their “someday” list? I do!)

Now it’s time for more exciting news. The folks over at TPT are having a “Teachers are Heroes” one day sale this Wednesday and, you know what? SLPs are heroes too! Most sellers will discount their store 20% and you can use code: HEROES for an additional 10% off your purchases.

Read and Sequence (The Moffatt Girls): This was designed for the regular classroom but will be a huge asset to those kiddos struggling with sequencing tasks. I have several who are non-readers but I’ll simply read the story to them and have them sequence as we go.

Listening Skills Resource (Jenn Alcorn): The temptation to make a hundred copies of the “I am a good listener” checklist and pass them out throughout the day is almost to much to resist!

These follow the same pattern as my Zig Zags for Articulation do. The child starts in the upper left hand corner, and stretches the lace across to the correct match. The yarn then loops behind and hooks at the next item in the left hand sequence. Targets include: rhyming (2), first sound/letter match (2 for consonants, 2 for consonant diagraphs/blends), compound words (or syllable blending) (2) and early reading/picture match (short and long vowels) (6). My students have loved these activities!

Because I have some students who really struggle with these concepts or younger students that might struggle with the fine motor component, I added a duplicate set of “Green Lights.” Green Light Zig Zags have the same title (printed in green) and items as the traditional format but you lace in straight lines for perfect practice. This is also great for little ones who need extra drill or might not be willing to try if they think they might make a mistake. Click here for more info.

You can see how this works with a FREEBIE! Click here to get a set for upper/lowercase letter matches.

This set includes a Zig Zag for each of the following: Final TS, Initial S (2 versions), Initial Z, Medial S, Medial Z, Final S (2 versions), Final Z, SP, ST, SL, SM/SN, SK. I’ve added a few “s” kids recently so I was very motivated to complete these!

Need I say more? All of the articulation packs (4 total) at a savings of 20%. Click here to see what’s included.

]]>http://www.activitytailor.com/?feed=rss2&p=36940Chicken Soup for the SLP Soul: A selective momenthttp://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3659
http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3659#commentsSun, 15 Feb 2015 11:00:20 +0000http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3659
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Graduate school is a tough time. Not only was I limited in my knowledge and experience (professional and life), but you’re constantly thrown into new learning environments. Tuesday mornings might be at a school. Wednesday afternoon you might be juggling adults in a rehab clinic. Fridays might have you doing rounds at the hospital. My mind was a constant jumble. So I was excited when I was assigned my first school practicum which had me in the same location a [Continue Reading]]]>

Graduate school is a tough time. Not only was I limited in my knowledge and experience (professional and life), but you’re constantly thrown into new learning environments. Tuesday mornings might be at a school. Wednesday afternoon you might be juggling adults in a rehab clinic. Fridays might have you doing rounds at the hospital. My mind was a constant jumble.

So I was excited when I was assigned my first school practicum which had me in the same location a couple of mornings a week for a few months. My first hour had me in a self-contained preschool classroom with almost all of the students receiving speech/language services for moderate impairments. I was going to provide “language stimulation” while they had their free play time and later in the morning I’d be back for a structured group lesson.

The teachers and my supervisor helpfully pointed out children and listed their diagnosis and goals.

He had started in the beginning of the school year. It was now January.

I was drawn to this quiet child who seemed easily overwhelmed by the noise of the classroom and the direct approach of his teachers and therapist and content to play by himself in the block corner.

I’m an observer myself; happy to watch before joining in and delighted to be in my own company for hours on end. I started building.

We sat in parallel play for a long time pulling from the same pile of blocks. He glanced at my structure a few times.

I saw that he was using a lot of one kind of block. I passed him one that was closer to me. He took it and went back to his task. Several more minutes went by and then I broke the silence.

I grabbed the biggest block from our stack and simply said, “This one is so small.” He glanced over and he started to giggle.

“No. It’s big.”

Yes. It really was.

Trust, rapport, patience. The cornerstone of a successful therapeutic relationship has to include these tenets, but the more experienced we become the more likely we are to rush in and try this, or this, maybe this. I need to remember to be selective myself.

Now for a little fun! Copy the code you see above because WE HAVE PRIZES! You can either hop over to Super Power Speech by clicking on the icon below or hop over to Speech Time Fun where the hop begins and read all about the giveaways and how to enter. Good luck!

]]>http://www.activitytailor.com/?feed=rss2&p=36597Share the Love!http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3678
http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3678#commentsThu, 12 Feb 2015 12:30:17 +0000http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3678
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Valentine’s day is nearly upon us and I wish I could somehow shove a big box of chocolates through my screen to all of you that take the time to read my posts. Oh, and let me push a bunch of flowers through to all the wonderful speech bloggers I follow. There are so many great ideas these days and tons of free/inexpensive materials and apps out there too. I can’t begin to express my gratitude for all of those who are [Continue Reading]]]>

Valentine’s day is nearly upon us and I wish I could somehow shove a big box of chocolates through my screen to all of you that take the time to read my posts. Oh, and let me push a bunch of flowers through to all the wonderful speech bloggers I follow. There are so many great ideas these days and tons of free/inexpensive materials and apps out there too. I can’t begin to express my gratitude for all of those who are willing to share, share and share some more. Or can I? While there is nothing more cozy than curling up with a mug of tea in my jammies while I collect treatment ideas and techniques, it requires very little additional energy on my part to interact.

Like! Follow! It takes just a moment to hit that “Like” or “Follow” button and let a fellow SLP know that you think their idea(s) are good ones.

Tweet, Retweet, Post or Pin: Found a great idea? Let the rest of us know by making the announcement via Twitter, Facebook or Pinterst.

Comments and Feedback: Bloggers are thrilled when their post hits the mark, so let them know it! And all those freebies we are quick to pick up on TPT? Leave some feedback in appreciation!

Other ways to get involved:

Yapp Guru: This review site has “experts” that offer their evaluations of all the speech and language apps out there so you don’t make a purchase that you’ll later regret. But what you might not realize is that ANYONE can “vote” for their favorite app. What a great way to get your own voice heard!

Blog Nominations: I’m embarking on a new project this year and collecting the “best of” for 2015. I need help! If you come across a post you love, please submit it! Self-nominations are A-OK! (Please no product only posts.) Click here to submit a post.

Much love to all of you who have taken the time to leave me comments, follow, like or subscribe. It keeps me going!

I’m very, very excited for the “Chicken Soup for the SLP Soul” blog hop which will begin on February 15, 2015. This time of year has so many either under the weather or feeling general mailaise. A heart-warming story is just what we need!

Sequencing. Time. These concepts are tricky ones for so many kids, yet they’re a critical skill. How can you hope to relay your experiences into a cohesive narrative if your listener can’t follow the trajectory of your store?

Inspired by a presentation at ASHA 2014 (I can no longer locate which session now—sorry!), I adapted an idea for a speech journal for my kiddos working on sequencing skills.

With these students, I make sure that our therapy activities (3-5 planned) are discrete entities even if they relate to one another. This means a clear taking out/cleaning up of materials even if that’s only a paper and pencil and even if we are taking them out again for the next task. At the end of each session, we write down a short sentence about each one.

I prompt and take the dictation so the work load is manageable for even my Kindergarteners. Once we have it down, I have the student sign it—recognition and ownership that, yes, this is what I did today.

I’m noticing it not only makes a difference in both their ability (given time) to verbalize the sequence of events, but also in their awareness of the sequence of actions as we’re working. Kind of a dawning “oh, now that paper is done which means we can move on to blocks and once those are cleaned up we’ll do a story.” Because our sessions are short (typically 30 min), it’s more realistic to hold on to this information than a whole, “what did you do today,” that leaves so many kids unable to answer with anything other than the very last item they did.

It will provide a nice written record at the end of the year too. I don’t send this journal home during the week, but I do share it during conference times.

Anyone else using a similar kind of speech journal? Let us know your method.

And don’t forget that I’m teaming up with Middle School SLP to make pen pal matches for your speech students of ALL ages! Read more about it here or go straight to the sign up form here.

]]>http://www.activitytailor.com/?feed=rss2&p=36703Branching Out (all over)http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3661
http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3661#commentsThu, 05 Feb 2015 12:30:25 +0000http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3661
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During the fall I posted a question in a few SLP Facebook groups, “How do you go about gaining expertise in a new area of interest?” I got great responses, everything from “read, read, read” to “attend as many seminars as you can” to “find a mentor!” I wrote it up for the lovely ASHA Leader editors and waited for the February issue to arrive. It’s the COVER! I’ve been overwhelmed with support from the online community since it appeared [Continue Reading]]]>

During the fall I posted a question in a few SLP Facebook groups, “How do you go about gaining expertise in a new area of interest?” I got great responses, everything from “read, read, read” to “attend as many seminars as you can” to “find a mentor!” I wrote it up for the lovely ASHA Leader editors and waited for the February issue to arrive.

It’s the COVER!

I’ve been overwhelmed with support from the online community since it appeared and I’m still floating a little bit (although attempts at getting my teens to refer to me as “Covergirl” haven’t worked). One of the best parts of this particular article is that it was a collaboration with a number of #SLPeeps. If you gave me information or a quote with permission to use it, many thanks to you. I’m truly grateful. Please take a moment to either open your February Leader and see what your colleagues are saying or read it online here.

Now for even more exciting news!

Gabby at Middle School SLP and I are teaming up to take “Speech Pals” to a new level–the old fashioned pen pal way! These days students have so little experience with the magic (and patience) of our snail mail system and this is a great way to target goals and make a new friend. (And who doesn’t have a student that could use a new friend?!)

You will be providing your name and email address as well as the school/clinic address where letters will be mailed. The only student info we ask for is initials (simply for tracking), age and primary target skill. It is the responsibility of the child’s therapist to help maintain the student’s privacy in all communications!

If you would like to submit an entire group for matching, you can do that too! In this instance you will fill out the form as if the group is one individual/entity and, if at all possible, we will try to match you with another group. Note: If you have a group and want each member to have their own personal match, you will need to fill out a form for each child.

We will do our best to match ages, target skill areas and give you a pen pal that lives in a different geographic area than you do. (We are currently expecting K-Gr. 12 for matches.)

I’m interested to see if there is a need for adult matches. This could be a great exercise for our older clients. If this is something you think we should pursue, please email me directly at: kim.lewis@activitytailor.com with the heading “Speech Pen Pal.” Let me know the approximate age and what you hope to address and we’ll see what we can come up with!

Remember to please fill out a form for EACH student or group you would like matched and make every attempt you can to offer an even number of pen pals so we end up even in the end!

Sign-ups close on February 28, 2015 and you will receive your match by email by March 5, 2015. We ask that you try to post at least 3 letters/postcards to your pen pal no later than May 20, 2015.

Matches will end in May 2015 and you will have the opportunity to sign-up again in August/September for a new match. (If you decide to continue with your original match, you’ll have the opportunity to do so.)

We are so excited for this project and hope you are too! Please take a moment to share with another SLP you think might be interested.

I’ve got a treat for you today! The Speech Owl and Speech to the Core have organized a For the Love of Speech Blog Hop with Valentine FREEBIES galore! Please set aside some time to join in the fun!

I’ve created a set of “Loves Me, Loves Me Not” idioms with flashcards, picture prompts (by SmartySymbols), a worksheet and writing prompt that is appropriate for grade 2-8.

The flashcards can be used for simple drill, sorting or as a traditional matching game (Go Fish! or Memory). You can use the pictured relationships to help drive home the concepts by sorting based on each card.

To complete the worksheet, each student receives one relationship picture and writes a short sentence describing the scenario/feelings portrayed, then circles the idioms that best express what they’ve described. If you laminate the worksheet, you can have them use dry erase markers and complete the sheet for multiple relationship cards.

For older students, there is an additional writing prompt sheet.

These cards are a great opportunity to address both idioms and pragmatic skills since it lends itself to discussions of relationship behavior (but from a safe distance!)

To download my freebie, click here. You will arrive at the product description for “Idioms: Go Figure!”. Click on “Preview” to download the freebie. (It’s a .pdf so you will be able to save to your computer).

Please note, this freebie is ONLY available during the blog hop (2/1-4, 2015). After that date it will only be available as part of my Idioms: Go Figure! packet.

To continue on in the blog hop and pick up an social skills freebie from SLP Runner, click Cupid’s Arrow below.

]]>http://www.activitytailor.com/?feed=rss2&p=36299Speech Palshttp://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3643
http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3643#commentsThu, 29 Jan 2015 12:30:45 +0000http://www.activitytailor.com/?p=3643
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I fell into such a fun situation this fall that I’m hoping I may be able to expand it in the future. I’m between a few schools and self-employed, often receiving referrals from word of mouth which is how I ended up with best friends in different locations—both working on carry-over artic goals. Hmmm…. You know what would be fun? A speech pen pal…but done by video so we could work on rate, volume and our target sound. Was it [Continue Reading]]]>

I fell into such a fun situation this fall that I’m hoping I may be able to expand it in the future.

I’m between a few schools and self-employed, often receiving referrals from word of mouth which is how I ended up with best friends in different locations—both working on carry-over artic goals.

Hmmm….

You know what would be fun? A speech pen pal…but done by video so we could work on rate, volume and our target sound.

Was it well received? You bet!

Both girls were so excited to hear their new message when they came in to speech and to create a response. What fun! And because a peer was listening, the speaker was motivated to watch and revise their message and—a few times—offer feedback to their pal (ex. “I had trouble with the last message. Could you go a little slower next time?)

I received permission from each family before we started so there were no privacy issues here and I’d recommend that you clear it in advance if you try it yourself.

I can see this having tremendous application with fluency and language students too.

Anyone else using this idea? Thoughts? Also, I’ve updated my Football Freebie open ended reinforcement sheet to reflect the team colors in the “Big Game.” My boys in particular LOVE this activity. Click here for a copy.